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More than one person has contacted our offices saying that they had been told by INS that 245(i),
the provision of law which allowed some people otherwise ineligible to adjust status, to do so upon
payment of a $1000 fee. We called INS and spoke with two live beings, one of whom identified himself
as an information officer. He said they had not received any information from the Department of
Justice on 245(i), and if it were so it would be posted in the INS web site. Our guess is that
someone at INS heard of the passage of S. 2045 and in a burst of enthusiasm or lapse of attention
conflated S. 2045 with 245(i). Whatever the source of the rumor, it is evidence that the INS is not
a reliable source for the interpretation of or information on immigration law.

Reopening of Comment Period for Section 212(c) Relief
The Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, has reopened the public comment period for the
proposed rule to create a uniform procedure for certain lawful permanent residents in deportation proceedings that
commenced before April 24, 1996, to apply for relief from deportation pursuant to section 212(c) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act. Written comments must be submitted on or before October 18, 2000.

Senate Passes Increase in H-1B Fees
The Senate passed
H.R. 5362 which increases the amount of fees charged to employers who are petitioners
for the employment of H-1B non-immigrant workers from $500 to $1000 effective two months after enactment.

Rep. Capuano Comments on the Violence Against Women Act
Rep. Capuano commended the House of Representatives for passing the conference report on
H.R. 3244, "Sex Trafficking Victims Protection Act" which also contains the reauthorization
for the "Violence Against Women Act." Rep. Capuano stated that the Violence Against Women
Act helps to protect battered immigrant women by reforming immigration laws that are currently
being used to prevent a battered immigrant spouse from reporting abuse or leaving an abusive relationship.

President Suspends Entry of Liberians
The President has suspended the entry into the United States, as immigrants and non-immigrants,
of all persons and the spouses, children, and parents of all persons who plan, engage in, or
benefit from activities that support the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), or that otherwise
impede the peace process in Sierra Leone.

The Arrest of an Immigration Lawyer Charged With Smuggling Turns Up the Heat on the INS
According to the Village Voice the recent arrest of attorney Robert E. Porges for helping smugglers
bring Chinese immigrants illegally into the US has allowed immigrant advocates to argue that the
attitudes of INS employees, exacerbated by incompetence, lack of oversight, and the INS's having to
enforce rigid, self-contradictory laws devised by a grandstanding Congress, make it easy for unscrupulous
lawyers to take advantage of vulnerable people.

British Tag is 'Coded Racism'
An article in the Guardian Unlimited states that a report released by the Commission into the Future of
Multi-ethnic Britain has sparked controversy. The report finds that the term "British" has racial connotations and will no longer serve
as a description of the UK's multicultural society. It concludes that the UK should be recognized as a
multicultural society whose history needs to rewritten depicting Britain as an imperial force involving
dominance in Ireland, Africa, the Caribbean and Asia. The report also calls for the establishment of a
human rights commission and for the scrapping of the current voucher system for asylum seekers.